Dell to ship XPS 13 Ultrabook with Ubuntu

This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

Maybe you love the sleek, sexy lines of those Intel-powered Ultrabooks. And maybe you want the long-running battery and lightweight build that comes with that sexiness, but you just don’t like Windows that way. Well it’s your lucky day; Dell has announced that it will soon be selling a version of its XPS13 Ultrabook that runs Ubuntu Linux out of the box.

The project to get Ubuntu on the XPS 13 is called Project Sputnik, and it is geared mostly toward developers that need to work with Linux, but want a more portable device. Perhaps the coolest part is that if you have a XPS 13 now, or you order the Windows version, the Ubuntu install image is available for download.

The XPS 13 currently starts at $999.99 and comes with a Core i5-2467M CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive, and USB 3.0. It’s a fine little machine as long as you can get by with integrated video and a 13-inch screen. If you can buy the computer without a Windows license at some point in the future, the price might be more reasonable.

The version of Ubuntu being built for the XPS 13 will have full support for the hardware, but will ship with very little installed. Developers will be encouraged to use a specially developed tool to reach out and get a “profile” from a github repository. Each profile would be designed to support a different development environment. Maybe you want to work with Android, or Ruby, or perhaps JavaScript. The idea is that you would get a bundle of tools that fits your needs.

The announcement happened at the Ubuntu Developers Summit, in front of many, many Linux nerds. It’s going to be hard for Dell to slink away from its commitment to Linux like it did last time. Back in 2007 Dell started shipping PCs with Ubuntu installed, much to the delight of the hardcore nerd demographic. Then in 2010, Dell quietly pulled the Linux models from its website, and the grand experiment was over — until now.

Dell hasn’t decided when the XPS 13 will start shipping with Ubuntu as an option. If you’re itching for an Ultrabook that is fully compatible with Linux, chances are that you’re comfortable installing from a disc image anyway. The folks behind Ubuntu are pleased as punch, and are going to be working with Dell to make Project Sputnik a success.